Objects are often referenced by multiple alternative names. For example, a person may be referred to by birth name, last name, first name, nick name, celebrity name, pen name, etc. Additionally, the same name may be associated with multiple different objects. For example, the name “bush” may refer to the person “George W. Bush”, the “bush” plant, the city “Bush, Illinois”, the product “Bush” beer, etc. As such, the lack of one-to-one correspondence between name and object makes object identification more difficult, adding a layer of complexity to searching and classification schemes. Some conventional systems address this identification problem by relying on the user to choose the best match from a list of potential alternative names. However, due to their reliance on user input, such systems lack intelligence to automate the selection of the strongest alternative name.